The weather front comes as the UK reels from the effects of the Beast from the East and just hours after a red alert for Scotland ended at 10am.

A seven-year-old girl became the latest to die during the severe weather.

The child, believed to be a pedestrian, was fatally injured after a car hit a house on Bodrigan Road in Looe at about 2.30pm, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

A 75-year-old woman was found dead in a snow-covered street in Leeds on Thursday morning, while Hampshire Police said a 46-year-old man died after a collision involving a lorry and van on the A34 southbound near Tot Hill services.

A 60-year-old man who died after being pulled from the water at Danson Park, near Welling, south-east London on Wednesday, has been named by the Metropolitan Police as Stephen Cavanagh.

Much of the country has been covered in snow (Owen Humphreys/PA)

It comes as:

- Hundreds of schools were forced to close, including more than 125 in North Yorkshire and more than 330 across Kent, giving thousands of children a second snow day.

- The National Grid issued a "gas deficit warning" prompting fears of a shortage, but households were reassured domestic supplies would not be affected.

- Nearly all train operators warned of cancellations and disruption and hundreds of flights were cancelled.

- The Royal Air Force was drafted in to help relief efforts in snow-hit Lincolnshire.

He added that freezing rain may batter parts of south-west England and Wales on Thursday night, potentially creating large, hazardous icy stretches as rain droplets supercool and freeze instantly upon hitting the ground.

At the latest meeting of the National Emergency Coordination Group getting an update on extreme weather situation. It is very important the people stay indoors from 4pm. If you are out, please make sure you get home before then. Plan ahead. pic.twitter.com/pJPHdeqkOI

The Irish Republic is also on red alert after being hit by the worst snow in 35 years, with Evelyn Cusack, senior forecaster with Met Eireann, warning 40cm of snow could fall in parts of the east and south.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urged: "We are asking everyone to be at home and safe by 4pm today and to remain indoors until the severe weather has passed.

"I'll repeat, nobody should be on the roads after 4pm today and everyone should be in home or indoors by 4pm."

Motorists across much of the UK have been warned against driving unless absolutely essential amid icy conditions and poor visibility, with Lincolnshire police describing travel on "most roads" as impossible.

The Met Office has issued its second red alert in 24 hours (PA)

Scotland has faced the brunt of the extreme weather so far, with police warning the public against travel until the severe amber warning passes at 6pm.

Hundreds of motorists on the M80 near Glasgow reported being stuck for up to 13 hours, with some spending the night in their cars, and others abandoning their vehicles.

Around 1,000 vehicles were at a standstill, tailing back eight miles in both directions, Police Scotland said.

More than a foot of snow was dumped in some parts of the country - peaking with 34cm of snow in Wittering, Cambridgeshire.

The Met Office said it had likely been deeper than this in some places, but dry, windy conditions had made it hard to measure.